Apple Crumble

Ingredients

• 900 g firm apples (about 6 medium), peeled, cored and cut into 2 cm chunks
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar or regular sugar, for the apples
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp plain flour (maida), for the apples
• 2 tbsp water
• 150 g plain flour (maida), for the crumble
• 50 g rolled oats
• 80 g light brown sugar or regular sugar, for the crumble
• ¼ tsp salt
• 120 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon, for the crumble

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Lightly butter a 22 cm baking dish.
2. Toss the apple chunks in the dish with the 2 tbsp sugar, lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp flour until evenly coated. Sprinkle over the water.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together 150 g flour, oats, 80 g sugar, salt and ½ tsp cinnamon.
4. Add the cold butter cubes. Rub them into the dry mix with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized lumps. Do not overwork it, or the topping will be heavy.
5. Scatter the crumble evenly over the apples. Leave it loose and do not press it down, so it bakes crisp.
6. Bake on the middle shelf until the topping is deep golden and the fruit juices bubble up around the edges, about 40 minutes. A knife pushed through the crumble should slide easily into the apples.
7. Rest the crumble for 10 minutes so the juices thicken slightly, then serve warm.

Tips

• Use apples that hold their shape, such as Granny Smith or firm green apples. Very soft apples turn to purée.
• Keep the butter cold so the topping stays crumbly and crisp rather than greasy.
• If the top browns too fast before the apples are soft, cover loosely with foil for the last 10–15 minutes.
• Cut the apples into even chunks so they cook at the same rate.